Hive
by Racing the Sunrise
Summary: He was alone, well mostly alone. Every night he fell asleep to the sound of buzzing...but soon he made a friend who also liked the sound of buzzing. NaruxShino
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Same as always, don't own….leave me now so I can go off and cry….

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"Come out, come out, wherever you are." The sing-song voice rang out around the abandoned complex. It consisted of two acres of run down and decrepit buildings. Previously they were houses and a small hospital. But after the fox's attack, they were left to crumble. The main reason for the abandonment was that many people were afraid of the forest, which was where the beast came out of after all. Even the walls were empty and devoid of life. Shinobi guards rarely patrolled that part of the wall. They were covered by trees from the encroaching forest, and wild animals were often seen running around the complex. It was considered condemned, causing it to be illegal for any humans to live in the area.

But very few people in the village consider the only occupant of the district as human.

"Where are you? I'll find you eventually, I always do." The sing-song voice was heard again. The noise caused the object of the hunt to crawl farther into its hiding place. Suddenly, the lid of the trashcan was taken away, and a hand pulled the yellow bundle out. "Found you!" The bundle struggled for a minute, before resigning to its fate. "Come on! The rest of the hive has been looking for you!"

The larger than normal wasp got out of the boy's grasp and flew near his head. They headed towards the boy's home, which sense the boy was the wasp's home; it was the wasp's home as well. "Yenma, why do you hide when I want to go to sleep? It's hard to find you in the dark and it's hard for me to sleep without the full hive."

The wasp's flight lowered a little bit before it zoomed up to rest on his head. The boy, Naruto, laughed. "I'm not mad, just tired. Better get with the rest, someone's in my house." The wasp seemed to hug his head before it shrunk and entered a small hole behind Naruto's ear. Naruto quickly pulled his hair out from the pony tail he sported and used it to cover the hole. It was almost long enough to fall to his mid-back when he didn't pull it back.

'Whoever it is, I don't think I'll need the Saimyosho.' He quickly entered one of the nicer buildings, it still looked as if it would collapse at any second, that he called home. In the main room, he saw a person that had their back to him. He ran forward and tackled the person…or he tried to. A hand grabbed him before he could reach his target. "How?"

"I'm not Hokage for nothing Naru-kun." The man chuckled at the thought of being defeated by a seven-year-old. Hearing his answer, Naruto wriggled out of the man's grip and bowed to the powerful shinobi.

"I am humbled by your unexpected visit, Lord Hokage." The chuckling stopped.

"Naruto, you are seven years old, you are not expected to be so formal."

"Yes sir." The old man sighed.

"Naruto, the academy starts in two weeks. Do you wish to attend?"

"What would I learn? I can already cook for myself. I can even hunt and skin animals!"

"To be a ninja of course. And those are very good qualities to have as a ninja."

"Do you want me to be a ninja?" The old man sighed again. He didn't want to decide things for the boy, he needed to make his own choices.

"Does it really matter?"

"Yes!"

"Fine. I would like it very much if you were to become a ninja."

"Then I'll go."

Yet another sign. "I will arrange it. Be at the academy on the 23rd at eight sharp. You will be shown your classroom." Then the Hokage kneeled down until he was level with the boy. "Be sure to take care of yourself, Naruto. I worry you're growing up too fast." Then he got up and started for the door. Before he walked out, he spoke once more. "Be sure to make some friends." Saratobi watched as the boy bowed to him again.

As he headed home, he motioned for his ANBU to check for anyone in the area.

"None sir. Any further orders?"

"Yes. See if you can find out what Naruto was looking for earlier."

"Yes sir."

"One more thing, find out in there is anyone named Yenma in this village." The ANBU nodded and was off.

--

"That was close…sigh…I don't want to be a ninja." As a hopeless feeling came over him, a loud buzzing sound filled the room. Many of the hive were crawling out of their openings, one behind each ear and on at the junction of his throat and his chest. The wasps soon grew to their full size of eight inches, which included their inch long stingers. Their constant sound calmed him down a lot. The hive never completely emptied, the queen lived near his heart, he would die if she left and he didn't have a queen.

Their buzzing roughly translated into, "What could go wrong?"

"A lot! I could um…I could ah…..um….someone could find out about the hive!"

"You are good about keeping secrets."

"Well, someone could-"

"Want to be your friend?"

"People always betray. I can't survive another 'friend' try to kill me."

"We will watch over you. We will tell you who will make a good friend."

"Promise?" He sounded so desperate. The insects couldn't stand to see their home and master in such a state.

"Yes. Now sleep." The skinny boy fell asleep to the sound of the hives buzzing.

--

'What about him? The one with the black hair and eyes?'

'No. His father is glaring at you.'

'All of them are. Hey look, on that tree! Is that a Stone Stag Beetle?' Naruto ran over to a tree at the edge of the school grounds. Reaching the rare bug, he pulled out a small scratch pad and started to sketch. He was so engrossed in his find that he didn't notice one of the parents walk up behind him. The person picked up a rock and hit Naruto over the head with it. With a cry, he fell the ground, dropping the book in the process. The crazed parent then to came towards him, intending to finish the job. Naruto saw this and started to yell for help. The hive answered his call. A solder wasp crawled through his hair before taking to the air.

The man ignored the sense of danger he was feeling and kept advancing on the boy. Without warning, the man felt pain in his back. Turning his head as far as it would go, he saw a humongous wasp stinging him. Its stinger was embedded into his shoulder blade and even went far enough to scrape the bone. The pain multiplied when the stinger was pulled out. The sting just caused him to drop the rock and pull out a knife with the other hand. Biting back the scream that welled up from his throat, he watched as the demon brat grabbed the wasp and held it close. He took two steps before he felt all of his energy leave him and he toppled over.

"Attacking a Konoha citizen is punishable by prison and is some cases, death." The attacker's head felt as if it was filled with lead, but he managed to turn it until he could see who was defending the demon boy. It was Shibi Aburame. The jonin walked over to the victim and kneeled down next to him. He wasn't on duty today and he was only in the area because he was walking his son to class. He had followed the cries for help when he saw that everyone else was avoiding the area like it was a graveyard. In fact, everyone seemed to disappear when Shibi had walked over. 'What was that wasp? I have not seen such a species before.'

"Thank you." Shibi was snapped out of his thoughts by a small voice. Looking down, he saw that the beaten boy was bowing to him. He was sickened by the fact that he could plainly see the boy's spine through his too small shirt. His disgust with the boy's condition changed to wonder when he saw that the wasp was no longer in his hands.

'Why did it help him? Could he be like us?' Out loud, he said, "That is my job. Why were you so far from the school?" He helped Naruto stand, but stayed kneeling so he could look the short boy in the eyes.

"I saw a Stone Stag Beetle. It's native to Iwa and really rare around here! I was drawing it when he hit me…Sorry."

"That is fine. That beetle is very rare. So where is your sketch?"

"I keep the book in my-Where is it?!" Shibi saw the pained look in his eyes as he widely moved around, looking for the book.

"Are you looking for this?" another soft voice asked. Naruto and Shibi turned to see a boy in a green coat holding out a notebook. Recognizing it, Naruto brightened and walked over to the boy. He meekly took the book and dipped his head to him.

"Thank you, it is very special to me. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Can I know your name please?" The small boy was obviously taken back by the other's formality and gratitude. Seeing his son's discomfort, Shibi introduced himself.

"I am Shibi Aburame. This is my son Shino. You should both get to class now." Shibi walked both to class, for Naruto's safety as much as Shino's. People may try to hurt him in an effort to harm Naruto.

Shino and Naruto sat next to each other in class, but no one else would. They wouldn't go anywhere near the 'creepy bug dude' and the person their parents seemed to hate. They had the row in front and behind theirs to themselves. Naruto was frightened by all the people, in his complex, he was mostly alone. Unconsciously, he moved closer to Shino, who didn't mind at all.

"Does this mean we're friends?" At Shino's question, Naruto turned to face him.

"Are you saying that so you can hurt me later?"

"If I wanted to hurt you, my dad wouldn't have saved you."

"Oh…I've never had a true friend before."

"Well, then it is a new experience for both of us." Both of the boys felt content at finally meeting someone willing to be their friend. Naruto felt truly happy, even the Saimyosho were happy.

* * *

"Teams will be a little different this year. Since everyone passed with high grades, there will be no dead last named this year. Team members are chosen based on how well they will work together."

Shino and Naruto were the only ones who were not surprised by his words. They were eating dinner at Shino's house when Shibi can home and said that the jonin were arguing over which genin they wanted. A fight had come to blows, and two jonin were hospitalized while three others suffered minor injuries.

"Hey Shino, Who do you think we'll be teamed with?"

"Well, you and I work very well together. If the Hyuuga was more agreeable, she would work with us." Naruto looked at the heiress. She was sitting by herself because she thought everyone was worthless to her. "The Uchiha is quiet like us."

"I have a bad feeling about him. No one else would work with us would they?"

"I have my doubts about the others."

"We both do. Shino, what teacher would we have if we got the Uchiha?"

"Someone connected to the Uchiha clan in some way."

"Team 6 will consist of Uzumaki Naruto, Aburame Shino, and…." All of the students held their breaths, no one ever went around those two and one was rarely seen without the other. "…Nara Shikamaru." Everyone waited for some kind of reaction, but all they got was a groan from Chouji. All three of the members didn't seem to care. "You three are to meet your teacher at the ramen stand ASAP. You may leave now." They stood and left.

They headed down the main road toward the ramen shop with Shikamaru and Shino walking side-by-side, while Naruto stood behind them. On their way, Shikamaru was painfully aware of how the village people saw Naruto. The civilian population was either glaring or ignoring the boy. On the other hand, the jonin and older chunin had a mix of respect and pity in their eyes. 'What secret do they know about Naruto that I don't? Damn, I have a feeling my lazy image will change soon.' "Hey Naruto, why do they look at you like that?"

When he saw Naruto flinch Shikamaru's curiosity soared. He was about to question him again but stopped when he felt Shino glare at him.

"A team is only as strong as their bonds, the strongest bonds are only formed out of trust, trust comes from the truth. Naruto and I have agreed to share our secrets with the team and hope you will follow our example. The secrets should not be discussed in public though."

Shikamaru could see how the truth would make them strong. He could also see himself become a little less lazy. "I understand. Does he not like crowds?"

"Naruto lives in an abandoned section of the village, the only human contact he gets is in class or when he comes to my house. Seeing the glares, can you blame him?"

"No. Damn, I feel like he'll change me."

"Naruto has that effect on people, he has even changed my most of my clan. The first time he came over, the elders tried to hurt him and kick him out. My father stopped them that time, but when they saw how starved he was, they let him stay. Now, they treat him as part of the clan."

"He was starved?!"

"Be quiet. I don't want Naruto know I'm talking about him. Yes, we gave him a new shirt after it ripped at our house. You could see his ribs and spine through his skin. Even now, his growth is stunted because of his previous malnutrition. He is getting better though."

"I think we're here." Naruto's small voice stopped Shikamaru from asking yet another question. Turning, they saw that they were indeed there. They into the stand and looked around.

"Well, about time you got here. I finished my pack waiting for you."

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**AN: **I almost never do these, do I? I don't read them on stories so I never really write one, oh well, this one is important, but I won't be making this a habit…..hopefully……

I really wanted to read a Naruto & Shino story, but could find exactly what I wanted…so I made my own. I'm still doing my others and have up to chapter 6 of Liar's Place. If you have any suggestions for any of my stories I'll read them, but I can't guarantee anything else. I want to thank Dark Orb for giving me the boot in the ass to post it. I was going to wait….not. Well, I will only babble from here on out so I'll end it.

-Ax


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I have to say thanks to all the people who love this story, and it is a lot. More people like this story with one chapter than my other one with four chapters. Unfortunately, I love Liar's Place more, and will work on that more. That and I actually have plans for it, Hive I just come up with as I go. Thanks again! This chap is dedicated to my friend Brittany, who talked about so many different ideas that she went hoarse for three days. Oh I forgot I was going to ask this, but why does everyone say Shino's dad's name is Shibi? In my Anime Profiles book, it said it's Gen.

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When they were all seated, the man that was to be their teacher spoke again. "Well, my name is Sarutobi Asuma. I don't really have a plan on what I'm going to teach you, we'll be playing it by ear for the most of it. Now I want you to introduce yourselves in the standard manner; full name, favorite and least favorite things, dreams, hobbies, and any other information that may help this team." Shino raised his hand.

"Asuma-sensei, we, as a team, decided that we would share any and all secrets we may have. But as I told Shikamaru, that conversation should not be held in public. Can we please move to a more closed location?"

Asuma was shocked at the closeness the three, but agreed that it wasn't a conversation the whole restaurant needed to hear. "So, do you have any ideas where to go, almost everywhere in the village is too public for the discussion?"

"I know of a place." Shikamaru and Asuma turned towards Naruto. "The district I live in is abandoned. None should be there. We could go to my house…that is if no one else has an idea." Naruto had shuffled until he was behind Shino as he was talking.

'That kid has problems.' Asuma watched as Shino stepped to the side a whispered something into the small blonde's ear. Whatever he said seemed to calm the boy down some. "I think we should discuss different living conditions for you when we get there." He stood. "Lead the way."

Naruto silently turned and lead them out of the shop. He kept following the main road until he came upon the outer wall, at which he turned right and started to follow the wall. As he was leading them, the other three were left to talk amongst themselves. Asuma started the conversation by asking how they came to such an idea to share any secrets they had. Sino answered.

"Naruto and I had already known about the odd team placements, just not who our third member would be. We thought for the rest of the night on what made a strong team, and our answer boiled down to one factor; trust."

Shikamaru chuckled, "I don't remember you talking this much before you met Naruto."

"Naruto doesn't talk much, so he doesn't express himself much. I can understand how he is feeling and tell it to others. I talk this much so Naruto doesn't need to talk. And come to think of it Shikamaru, I haven't heard you say troublesome at all in this conversation." Shika huffed at this.

"I told you I had changed. Damn do you know how hard it is for me not to say that word now?"

"What word Shikamaru?" The boy in question didn't even think before he answered Naruto.

"Troublesome." They were all then shocked by the soft laughter of the blond boy, it sounded like the chiming of small bells.

"I got you to say the word Shikamaru."

"I guess you did Naruto."

"You should laugh more often Naruto."

"You tell me that a lot Shino. Anyway, here we are." Naruto stopped and motioned at the surroundings with his arms. "Home, sweet home." The others slowly turned in an effort of seeing something that even resembled a home. The only sight that met their eyes was rundown buildings and broken glass.

"Why do you live here?"

"Well Asuma-sensei, it is because it is the only place that people wouldn't hurt me. Hokage-sama tried putting me into an orphanage, but they kicked me out at the age of three. Next he bought me an apartment, but no one was willing to watch me but an ANBU guard. At both of those places, people attacked me and destroyed anything I might have had." Asuma and Shikamaru were shocked speechless. "I was running from one such mob when I entered this complex. I hid here and wondered why nobody had followed me here. Later I learned that many people thought this place held a curse because no one knew what killed all the people here and destroyed the buildings. All thoughts of it being Kyuubi's doing don't make any sense, the wall, as you can see, hasn't been breached." At the end of his tale, Naruto held up a hand and waved at a nearby corner. Out of the shadows, walked an ANBU. The guard walked over to their group and waited to hear what Naruto wanted.

"Thank you for bothering to come. I just wanted to ask you to move away from the house, our conversation isn't for others' ears."

"That is against protocol."

"I know, please?"

The man seemed to sigh, but then ruffled Naruto's hair in a fatherly manner. "Fine. But if anything happens, I won't take the blame."

"Thank you again." The ANBU turned to Asuma, Shikamaru, and Shino.

"I've seen Shino here before, but the other two are new. If anything happens to Naruto has a result of this conversation, I will personally hunt you down." His voice held a cold edge that caused Shika and Shino to shiver; Asuma was used to dealing with death threats.

"You know me cat, I wouldn't harm a hair on the poor boy's head."

"That's what Kieta told me, Asuma."

"Nothing will happen." They turned towards Naruto, who was wiping tears out of his eyes. Out of nowhere, a loud buzzing sound could be heard, and it was quickly becoming deafening.

"I'm sorry to bring her up Naruto. I will go now, but please signal me when I can move back to my post."

"Sure." The ANBU jumped off as Naruto turned and entered the decrepit building in front of them. "I don't have electricity here, so I don't have much food, sorry for not mentioning it before."

"That's fine Naruto; it was a good idea to come here." Asuma noticed that Naruto talked more when he was in this area, but the conversation with the ANBU had left him curious about his new student. He had no doubt in his mind that they would have passed his teamwork test, and he was already trying to figure out how to train them individually. He also began to feel the same way around Naruto as he did when he was around Konohamaru; like he needed to protect the boy. "So, Naruto, why are the ANBU so nice to you? Usually, they ignore most people."

"Before coming here, I stayed at the ANBU base at the Hokage Tower. They told me that as soon as I became a chunin, they would bug the Hokage until he let them train me to become ANBU."

"Why would they take such measures, you are young."

"Because of the Saimyosho."

"And that is what?"

Shikamaru looked up at the last word. "The 'Hell's Wasps'?"

They continued to follow Naruto as he led them around to the back of the building. They went out a door and stood awed at the sight that greeted them. Calling it a garden would be like calling a hurricane a rain shower; a gross understatement.

"You can only get partial sunlight in here. Most trees and plants find that it is too shady and too wet to survive here." Naruto walked over to a four foot tall bush that had stalks coming out of it. On top of the stalks were bunches of white flowers that resembled butterflies. "This is _Hedychium coronarium_, or Butterfly Lily. It lives in tropic areas and has a wonderful scent." Naruto seemed very proud of his garden and walked around describing the different plants that he had grown. Finally he finished with the last flower, which happened to be peppermint, and led them to a flat, grass-covered section in the garden. "I've talked enough, my throat hurts."

"I'll go first I guess." Shikamaru had heard the scraping sound in Naruto's throat and decided to go first. "I am Shikamaru of the Nara clan. I am not a very active person, I wanted to be a casual ninja, a casual worker, and live a normal life."

"Wanted?" Asuma butted in. "What changed?"

"I got curious about why the people treat Naruto the way he is treated. Now I've seen how bad he has it, I want to work to change that and make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else."

"How moving. You know, this means I only expect you to be a little lazy now right?"

"Yea, yea, now let me finish. My father says I've got the fastest strategic mind he's seen in years, and I love to play shogi or go to test this claim out. I have yet to be beaten. My most used jutsu is the Kagemane, or the Shadow Possession Jutsu, which allows me to control an enemy's movement .My father says he'll show me another family ninjutsu when he thinks I'm ready." He took a big breath. "I think that's all for now."

"Very good Shikamaru. How about you, Shino, want to go next?"

"That is fine with me. I am Shino of the Aburame clan. Ninjutsu that involves the use of our insects is the specialty of my clan. While it is fairly common for ninja to summon animals to fight with them using Kuchiyose techniques, in our case, the insects live in our bodies and ingest our chakra as food. This way, I can deploy them in battle without a summoning. My bugs can steal others' chakra as well, and they are most used for this. Other uses include a clone made of them and tracking."

"Okay, enough about techniques, tell me what I really want to know, how you and Naruto met." Asuma broke in.

"The first day of the Academy, he was being attacked by a villager when my father stepped in and stopped him. We have been friends ever since. Naruto often spends time over at my home with my clan and helps us categorize our different colonies."

"I think it is my turn now. I warn you, I have the most secrets so it could take awhile." He waited until everyone had settled down more and gotten comfortable. "My first secret is a S-class secret of the village, and I have 

gotten permission to discuss it with anyone I choose. You can't discuss it with anyone else though. Twelve years ago, a great fox spirit with nine tails attacked our village…"

'Is he really going to tell them?' Asuma was scared that the other two would see Naruto as the fox, which would put a damper on the whole 'teamwork' thing.

"We already know this Naruto." Shikamaru broke in.

"No you don't Shikamaru." Asuma told him.

"…and the fourth Hokage defeated the fox by sealing its soul into the body of a baby boy, me." Naruto waited to hear Shikamaru's response to the truth. Shikamaru looked around at everyone else's faces to see that he was the only one that was surprised.

"Did everyone know but me?!" He turned to Shino.

"Naruto and I have already discussed our secrets, and it really isn't that hard to believe, is it?" He turned to Asuma next.

"Everyone old enough to remember exactly what happened that night knows the truth." The jonin watched as Shikamaru calmed himself and looked back at Naruto.

"How did you find out, where you told?"

"That's the rest of my story. When I was five and still had an apartment, I thought I made a friend. Her name was Kieta and she was a chunin who the Hokage had assigned to watch me. She was so nice and I trusted her so much that I missed the signs of her hate for me. I didn't see her glares, even if she looked right at me. I was so blind because she gave me clothes and food." He had to break off and wipe some tears out of his eyes.

"It ended three weeks later. She tied me up and dragged me out into the forest, where another bunch of chunin were waiting. I had passed out by the time they stop beating me into the ground. I was woken up by the sound of screaming and buzzing. The group had gotten drunk and now they were being attacked by a group of huge wasps, the Saimyosho. While everyone was being killed, a woman stepped out. She was so beautiful, but even a five year old could tell she wasn't human, the most noticeable thing was the pointed ears and wings…" his voice dwindled off without a finish.

"Wings?" Asuma questioned, but it appeared Naruto was caught up in his own little world.

"She was the queen. I can't go into details but I can tell you that she gave me a hive, like Shino, of Saimyosho. They are the Hell's Wasp." Naruto stopped to pull his hair back into a ponytail, allowing them to see the holes below his ears. Black spots could be seen crawling out of them. The spots grew wings and flew up into the air where they kept growing. Shikamaru, Shino and Asuma were stunned that in seconds they were surrounded by huge wasps.

"Even you were stunned Shino?" Asuma broke the silence.

"The wasps were explained to me, but I've never seen them."

"So Naruto, why can't you go into details?"

"I was five and had a concussion, I'm lucky to remember anything. I can tell you that she explained that the Hell's Wasps served the Kyuubi and saw them as their liege lord. Since I held the Kyuubi, they would serve and protect me. They are the only reason I've survived this long." Naruto held his arms out and a wasp flew into his grip. He then hugged the wasp close to him.

"Too troublesome…."

* * *

An: Done! Hope it's good. Anyway, if you want, I'm spreading the word about my own stories (that very few have read) and Dark Orb's stories. Which are awesome and deserve a good reading!


	3. Chapter 3

"So which teams passed the secondary genin exam and how did they do?" Sarutobi steepled his fingers as he spoke and prepared himself to listen to the jonin's stories. Kurenai was the first to step forward.

"Team 8; consisting of Akamichi Chouji, Hyuuga Hinata, and Yamanaka Ino, pass. They were told to place one hit on me while I used a genjutsu to hide myself. Ino led the team, Hinata used her bloodline to find me, and Chouji actually hit me on the arm. They are rough around the edges, but I'm confident I can smooth them out." She stepped back and joined the collected jonin, signaling that she was finished.

As Kakashi stepped forward, to give his report, Sarutobi admitted to himself that he was tired of hearing how the genin under him fail. The old man even considered taking him off of the teaching list and Kakashi back on the full active duty roster. This would be that last time Kakashi would fail a team just because their teamwork wasn't perfect.

"Team 7; consisting of Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba, and Uchiha Sasuke..." he paused while everyone held their breath, "...pass." Every jonin in the room instantly broke out in whispers at this word. Sarutobi allowed them five minutes to calm down themselves, but when it seemed like silence would never come, he stopped them himself.

"Quiet." The Hokage had not shouted, the word was spoken in less than a whisper, but the jonin heard him. When it was calm once more, Kakashi finished his report.

"While Kiba and Sasuke are constantly fighting, they were able to create a truce to get the bells. Sakura made a plan that Sasuke, Kiba, and Akamaru all followed. They need some work, but I think I can handle it."

"Very well." Kakashi stepped back and joined the crowd. "Has anyone else's teams passed?" Asuma stepped up.

"Team 6; consisting of Aburame Shino, Nara Shikamaru, and Uzumaki Naruto, passed well over expectations." The gathered jonin could feel the shift in the atmosphere of the room as the gathered ANBU stood a little straighter after he spoke. Even Kakashi, who wasn't in ANBU any longer, felt pride fill his being at the thought of the child he used to watch became an official ninja.

"What was the test?" The Third was happy that Naruto has passed as well.

"I had planned for them to track me for awhile, but that was thrown out the window as soon as I met them. Shino calmly explained that they were willing to share all of their secrets in order to form trust. We walked to Naruto's...home and discussed things. Everyone who knew where the boy lived knew reason for Asuma's pause. The area he lived in couldn't be considered a home by most of them there. "Every secret was laid out on the table." Asuma held the Hokage's eyes and he watched as comprehension entered them.

"How did they take the knowledge?"

"In stride. Shikamaru even swore not to be as lazy once he saw how Naruto was being treated by civilians on our walk."

"So you didn't give them an actual exercise?" a random jonin asked from the crowd. Asuma ignored him until the Hokage asked him to answer it.

"I believe that anyone willing to completely expose themselves to their team mates disserves to become a ninja." Sarutobi nodded in response; pleased with his son's answer.

"If there is no other business to discuss, I call this meeting adjourned." Soon after he closed the meeting, the jonin filed out until only Asuma was left standing in front of his father. "Did you have something else to add?"

"No, just a question I would like answered. Why does Naruto live in the destroyed sector of town?" His tone had come out as condescending, but Asuma didn't even notice. Even though his son was questioning the Hokage's leadership, Sarutobi found it hard to blame him, given the topic.

"Naruto has lived in that district for a long time. If anyone tried to force him to relocate, I fear it will not go well."

"But, Lord Hokage, the building he lives in can't be considered a home. One day it will collapse, and then what will happen to Naruto?"

"He will pick a different building in the sector and live there."

"But, Hokage-sama, he shouldn't hav-"

"Don't you think I know that?!" The leader's yell caused Asuma to flinch and hold his head down. Asuma had never heard his father sound so defeated, not even after the Fourth's passing. "I know he shouldn't have to live there, away from most human contact, but currently it's the best thing for him. We can't force him to stay in the ANBU headquarters; he got sick the last time. Naruto doesn't want to live off of any of the other clans; you don't know how many times Shibi has come in here, trying to get Naruto to live on his compound." The Third closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself down but when he started talking again, he sounded his age of 73. "I don't know what to do, Asuma. Naruto needs help, and I created that team in the hopes that you all can help him. If you want the truth, I think Naruto has become afraid of humans. I want you to do all you can to break him of his fear and shyness."

"I can't promise anything, but I will try my best." The elder Sarutobi looked up to his son and only saw truth in his eyes. He knew Naruto was in good hands.

"I'll hold you to it. Asuma, I just want to see the boy smile again."

"How did Naruto get sick?" The Third sighed before he answered.

"He was cooped up in Headquarters for a month and his body was used to being outside at almost all times. And Asuma, the boy wouldn't move even if we built a decent place for him in the district, his pride wouldn't let him." Asuma chuckled, so he continued. "He may be shy around strangers, but he still has his pride."

"I was chuckling because I already knew that. You should have heard him when he was showing us his garden." Sarutobi smiled at the memory of his own tour of the gardens.

"Do you know what kind of team you'll train them to be?"

"Yes, but you won't like it."

Another sigh. "What is it?"

* * *

"Who was placed on your team today?" Most of the Aburame stopped their quiet conversations to hear Shino's answer. The majority of the clan was sitting out in the garden eating from the plates of food set near the center of the plain they were in. The clan had always had special occasion dinners here amongst the trees, flowers, and insects of the beautiful place. Shibi himself sat with his back to a large redwood tree set in the exact center of the clearing. The tree had been there long before the first Aburame, and was where most of the clan meetings took place. Up in the boughs, different members sat, not even worried about falling. Light came in the form of lanterns hung at odd intervals on the branches.

"Sarutobi Asuma and Nara Shikamaru." Shino was sitting on his father's right, a few feet away. He had shed his large overcoat and was wearing only his black sleeveless shirt and pants; it was customary in the clan to take off coats as a sign of trust. If you were covered, then it was seen as you had something to hide, and there were no secrets amongst members of the clan.

"What do you think about them?"

"Asuma agreed that is was best to share our team's secrets and merely told us to meet for training the next day. I have not seen him enough to make a valid judgment of character. Shikamaru is very intelligent and does not rush things."

"It seems that your team is based on knowledge and stealth. Asuma is known to enjoy challenging strategy games, while at the same time, he could provide the muscle needed for you team to survive." Shino nodded at his father's observation.

Shino's mother, Hotaru, looked up from her own conversation to look up on one of the lower branches of the tree. "What do you think of them Naruto?" Her tone was quiet like all Aburame, but it held a softer note than most of them. Her musical voice and kind nature made her very different than the other members of her family. Naruto was sitting on the branch above Shino's head and had been dropping bugs into his hair, much to the clan's amusement.

"They seemed nice; they didn't even mind my long tour of the garden. Oh I forgot…here!" Naruto rummaged in his bag, sitting next to him on the branch, and pulled a small scroll out from its depths. He then jumped from his branch and landed near the woman. He unfurled the scroll, bit his thumb, and smeared the blood over a seal in the center of the scroll. A plant materialized from the seal. It was two and a half meters tall with trumpet shaped flowers covering the top of it. The blossoms themselves were red-violet with white throats.

"It's beautiful Naruto."

"It's a cultivar of Ipomoea Purpurea called 'Crimson Rambler'. This kind of flower is technically a weed, but the flowers are so beautiful that people grow it anyway. If you keep it near a fence it will grow along it and not mess with your other plants." Hotaru reached over and ruffled Naruto's hair in a loving manner, happy with the gift.

"Thank you very much Naruto, but why give it to us?"

"Well, your birthday is coming soon, a…well…" Naruto's face grew red with embarrassment of the whole clan's eyes on him and just decided to pick up the scroll and put in away in his bag. Shibi decided to change the topic, but keep Naruto talking. He had long ago learned that the boy would only talk if he was prompted to do so.

"You usually only grow plants that have a dual purpose. Does this plant have any other value than aesthetical?"

"Well, if you dry the seeds and grind them into a fine powder, they can be used as a hallucinogen. But it would have to be a pretty big dose." He climbed back into the branch he was on previously and continued to play with Shino's hair. "The others don't seem too bad; the wasps liked them, so they can't be bad people."

"Naruto, Shino, if you two wouldn't mind, I would like to see you spar."

"Do you mean now, Father?"

"If that is no problem." Naruto and Shino nodded.

"Hey Shino, let's spar in the tree." They had not yet learned how to use chakra to stick an object, but they had been taught how to fight in forests. This was one of their first lessons because they were surrounded by forests. But Naruto didn't suggest this so that they could practice. He suggested it because he was more likely to win if they fought off of the ground. Shino was physically stronger but Naruto was faster on his feet, so Naruto only needed to knock Shino off of his own feet to win.

"That's fine." Shino jumped up and joined Naruto on the branch. They both just stood, gauging their opponent. Buzzing filled the clearing as both of the hives woke and prepared to a fight. Naruto was the first to make his move. He jumped forward and moved to kick Shino as his wasps flew from out of his hair. They stayed small, a rule of the spars, but swarmed Shino. The other boy leaped away to another branch, but was followed by the persistent wasps. It took a large number of his own bugs to beat off the mass of yellow and purple, and by the time he looked for his opponent, Naruto was gone.

'His style relies on kicks. If I can disable his legs, I'll win. Now, where will he come from?' Shino slowly turned in a circle, careful not to fall, but still couldn't find Naruto. "Where is he?"

"Up here." Shino looked up to see Naruto hanging on to the bottom of the branch above his head and grinning. "I win."

"How do come to that conclusion?" That's when Shino felt the stinger of a wasp by his neck. It was smaller than the normal wasps and colored almost completely different; purple and black. It was Naruto's most poisonous wasp. "I concede." The wasp moved away and joined the rest of the hive in Naruto's body. They jumped down and joined the rest of the clan who were back to speaking amongst themselves.

"That was a very fast spar." Hotaru commented.

"Ninja battles should be fast and not last any more than five minutes. The only way it would last longer was if the two fighters were evenly matched. Then it becomes a battle of endurance or luck. A fast battle is a good battle." Shibi told her. She had never become a ninja, so she didn't know certain things.

"If we had been fighting on the ground, Shino would have beaten me easily."

"Maybe so, but I accepted the conditions of the match; I lost fair and square." Naruto just laughed, knowing that Shino would not allow him to continue the argument. Naruto spent the rest of his time on the compound explaining all of his new plants to the figure head of the Aburame clan.

* * *

The next day, Naruto and Shino walked into the training ground to see Shikamaru and Asuma already there. The two were locked in a battle of whit, shogi. The two were so caught up in there match that they didn't even notice the other two walking up, even when they were standing behind Shikamaru.

"You shouldn't have moved there, now he'll…" Naruto was cut off by Shikamaru.

"Checkmate." Asuma didn't complain about the outcome of the match and in fact, he was smiling broadly at his opponent.

"You're really good, and I would love to keep playing with you, but we you get to training." Asuma stood from the ground and put away the shogi set. When he was done, he walked out into the middle of the training field. The others followed and they stopped even distance from each other. "Now, tell me what kind of fighting styles so you use?" Shikamaru went first.

"I use only the Academy taijutsu, our clan techniques are used best when the enemy can't see us."

"I do not use a strict style, as my clan's moves are used covertly in missions. I have strong arms and use punches and blocks the most."

"I use an over-seas style called savant. It focuses on dodging and graceful kicks to bring down opponents. Unlike most styles, only foot kicks are allowed, no shins or kneeing, and only a few punches are taught. The most use hands get in this style is as open hand slaps to help knock over the opponent. One hand is always kept free for balance and batting opponents' punches away."

Asuma smiled at the boy. 'When he talks about anything he has done himself, he talks so much more.' "What kinds of kicks are used? I've never heard of that style, though the slap thing sounds like the Juken of the Hyuuga."

"Um…Roundhouse kicks using the instep that can go high, head, medium, ribs, or low, the knees. Kicks using the front or side of the foot, high, medium, or low. A hooking kick using the sole of the foot, high, medium, or low. A front sweep kick to the shin with the inner edge of the foot, low only. There might be more, but those are the only ones that I would use on a battlefield." He had been counting off on his fingers and looked up when he had finished. "The style is perfect for me because I'm short and nimble."

"You know a lot about it, don't you?"

"I guess…I got it from a book from the Hyuuga head; he said that they didn't need it anymore."

"Well, I want to talk about our team now. There will only be two absolute rules: follow my orders and never give up. I really have one more rule, which would be 'Never abandon your teammates,' but I don't think you'll have a problem with that. One thing you should know about me, I will never sugar coat things or lie to you. I believe that you will be lied to enough in this business that you don't need it from me. If you ask me a question that I am at liberty to answer, I will answer. So, does anyone have any questions for me now?"

"My dad wanted me to ask what kind of team we would be training to be." Shikamaru asked from Asuma's right.

"This team will need a lot of work before we can do want I have planned for you. But I will train you to be a capture and on-the-spot interrogation squad. Shino can track with his insects, you can use your shadow to capture them Shikamaru, and Naruto will actually do the interrogation."

"But, Asuma-sensei, I'm not really…um...cut out to do interrogation." Asuma just patted Naruto on the shoulder.

"You will be when I'm done with you. Naruto, you are too shy for your own good, and I told the Hokage that I would do my best to break that out of you. This is the best way; your hive is perfect as scare tactics and I know you have several plants that could be used in that field as well. We will also be looking towards you for poisons and antidotes. Do you think you can handle it?"

"I guess I'll try…"

"That's all I ask of you. In fact, I've enlisted the help of a good friend of mine to help you in this department. He's strict, but a good teacher. He has also said that he will not stand for you to act the way you do now when you are around him. He will not teach someone who doesn't wholeheartedly wants to learn." Naruto nodded as a response, contemplating his words.

"Okay, I'll tell you now, this won't be easy. The moves you will learn will be from all different countries; I saw how useful they were during the war and looked them up. Even I can't use them all, but we'll do our best. They are very flexible and can be used as defensive or offensive. But first, we need to focus on chakra control…"

* * *

Sorry it's taken so long, but Dark Orb can't access his email, and I needed his help on some parts. Hope ya like it. Please tell me what you think!

DD


	4. Chapter 4

I'm soooooo sorry for how long its taken me. I hope the quality of this chapter is an improvement to previous chapters (I tried really hard). This chap is dedicated to Dark Orb for dealing w/ my shit and the cute scene is dedicated to Zero Skye. Hope ya like!!!

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* * *

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"Naruto, target is 20 meters to your right." The mentioned boy moved his position until he was directly behind the four legged devil. The browns the target was wearing should have made it harder to spot, but served as a marker for Naruto. "You ready? Let's trap and grab."

"Right." The cat lifted its head and sniffed the wind. Something was wrong. Feeling a shift in the scents of the forest, and its impending doom, the animal shot off into the brush, or tried at least. It was able to take a couple of steps before it froze, unable to move. An annoyed hiss stopped dead in its throat as it felt a sharp prick on its side. With a crash, it fell to the ground unconscious.

"Dang, that is fast acting." A black haired youth commented as he walked out of the brush and over to the downed animal. With extreme care, Shikamaru pulled the small dart out of the cat's flank. He didn't want to fall to the same fate after all.

"I diluted it as much as possible," the blond owner of the dart said as he joined him in the clearing, tucking a long, thin blowpipe into his jacket. His voice was quiet and apologetic, but it annoyed Shikamaru because his teammate had nothing to be sorry for. Naruto took the dart from his open hand and placed it in an inside pocket of his long-sleeved jacket. The forest green jacket had been a gift from Asuma and while it looked somewhat like Shino's, it wasn't as large. Naruto's confidence in himself had shot up in the three weeks that they had been a team, but he was still shy and liked to cover himself up as much as possible. A couple weeks was not enough time to completely change years of survival techniques. "The sleeping honey is made for larger animals anyway."

"I didn't say it was a bad thing. Where did you get that recipe anyway? You didn't use this last time." In truth, Shikamaru hadn't thought it would work as well as it did. It was the first time they had incorporated Naruto's newest weapons into a mission. None of them had started any real training, only from family for Shino and Shikamaru, but Naruto had started training with Asuma's comrade almost the same day he was told about it. Since then, Naruto had been bringing odd and experimental chemicals to missions, sometimes he also brought a new weapon to try, like the blowpipe today.

"I'll explain at the next meeting." Team 6 held meetings every day like all teams but they shared the results of their personal training only sparingly; if you see something someone is working on everyday, it doesn't appear that they are making any progress. The next one was scheduled for that night at training ground 4. They had claimed that area as their own because it was farther away from the village and half covered with trees, perfect for two insect users and a shadow user.

Shikamaru grumbled about being left in the dark until then, and picked up the comatose animal. "This is the target. Good thing we didn't have to chase it, this way was so much easier. I'm glad we caught him before it got really dark. " It was dusk as it stood now.

Naruto laughed a little. "Would it be too troublesome?"

"Yes, far too troublesome." He sighed, but Naruto could see a small smile on his face. "Well, let's go get our mission pay." Naruto nodded and they silently left the forest and headed to the mission desk of the Hokage Tower. For the last three weeks, the team had been splitting up and completing D rank missions in pairs. Yesterday, Naruto had been paired with Asuma while they gardened, whereas Shikamaru and Shino babysat a carpenter's kids. This way, Team 6 had completed at least 30 D-rank missions.

As they walked down the main drag of Konoha, Shikamaru made an effort to glare at everyone who even frowned at his friend. When they finally walked into the mission room, they saw that Asuma was in the middle of an argument with a female jonin instructor. Ino stood behind her, glaring, while Hinata and Chogi were standing near each other, seemingly to hide from their teammate.

"D rank missions are supposed to be completed by full squads of genin to promote teamwork. What you are doing is keeping them apart." Her voice was sharp and condescending, a voice you would use to scold a child. The effect was diminished somewhat by the fact that the "child" she was scolding stood a full two feet taller than her. Asuma just stood next to Kakashi who was there to report as well. Both teams, Seven and Eight, were had their full attention focused on the argument; while Asuma and Kakashi looked bored. Shikamaru and Naruto's entrance seemed to be noticed only by their other teammate, Shino. He walked from his position behind Asuma to his teammates and stood with them.

"What's going on?" Shikamaru quietly asked him. The aggravated look on his face was an immense change from the calm façade that he normally wore.

"Kurenai-san doesn't like Asuma-sensei's way of handling his squad. She argues that our way will make us weak." His voice was calm and collected, as sharp contrast to facial emotions, but to someone who had known him for a good portion of his life, like Naruto, he sounded just as annoyed as he looked.

"Kurenai-san, with all respect due to one of your rank; mind your own business," Asuma coolly stated. He had noticed the rest of his team enter and he wanted to leave quickly. Now that they had completed almost three times the number of required "missions" they could start real training. "This is my squad, meaning they are **my **responsibility. If your training methods are superior to mine, then it will show in the exam in six months. Until then, keep your mouth shut." One of the biggest insults a teacher can receive is to be called incompetent. Asuma wouldn't stand for someone, especially one who had never trained a genin squad, criticizing his squad.

Kurenai turned to Kakashi, desperate for someone, anyone, to agree with her. "You hold camaraderie very high; can you understand what I'm saying?" Kakashi moved his head a little and cast his gaze on Team Six. He held it there for a minute before turning back to the fuming jonin.

"It's only been a week, but they don't look too feeble to me."

Kurenai glared hatefully at the laid-back ninja, imagining him and his little orange friend burning in the lowest depths of hell. Without thinking, she hissed out, "You only say that because you're biased towards the little brat you used to baby sit." Naruto tensed at the venom of the kunoichi's voice and wished to leave. Shino and Shikamaru, feeling their teammate's unease, moved to stand in front of him. They're movements were noticed by the incensed jonin, who turned her head slightly and glowered at them. The glare was noticed by both of the genin and completely blocked from reaching the third standing behind them.

Kakashi was the first to spot the object of her gaze and stepped to the right, blocking her view. In a dangerously low voice, the ex-ANBU captain hissed out, "Kurenai-san, what are you trying to say?" The jonin switched her glare over to Kakashi, but her eyes widened comically when Asuma came forward to stand next to him.

"I think that this farce has gone on long enough." The Third's sharp voice broke the three jonin from they're standoff. The hate that had completely filled the air before disappeared as Kurenai pushed past the two men and stormed out of the room, her team following quietly behind her.

Kakashi bowed to the Third and then turned to Asuma. "You might want to watch it. A woman scorned and all of that." Asuma nodded, but didn't say anything. He was busy trying to force his anger at his past sweetheart out of his system. Naruto was scared enough without having to fear his teacher. Asuma turned to face the Hokage fully as Kakashi led his team out of the room.

"Hokage-sama, I wish to apologize…" he stopped as his father raised his hand.

"The blame does not lie with you. Instead of apologizing, you should be getting your team out of here." The elder man nodded behind him and Asuma turned to see Naruto hunched over himself and softly mumbling incoherently. Kurenai had effected him more than Asuma had realized before. The jonin walked over to the quivering boy and laid a hand on his arm. Naruto jerked his head up and, upon seeing that he was with friends and Kurenai was gone, calmed down.

"Sorry…"

Asuma forced a smile on his face and replied, "No need to be sorry. Let's leave." Without another delay, Team 6 quickly left the building and made they're way over to their training grounds.

**_

* * *

_**It took another ten minutes for Naruto to settle down enough to start training. "You all understand the basis of the ninja: chakra." At their collected nod, Asuma continued. "Though none of you waste a vast amount of chakra, none of you are using it to its full efficiency. The best way to learn anything is through experience; worst-case scenario is you are forced to learn something on the battle field. Therefore, we will be experiencing the need for chakra control without the battle field, but in high stress. Care to guess how?"

Shikamaru sighed before answering. "We'll have to learn to tree walk?"

Asuma grinned down at him. "Yes, you will be tree walking. I have jutsu I will teach you at the end of the week. For each of these, you will need the chakra control needed to get up one of these trees." He motioned around them for dramatic effect. "If you fail, you're still learning the jutsu, but it will be much harder. And I won't teach you anything else until you can complete both tasks to my standards."

Asuma walked away from the group, toward a large tree that stood on the edge of the shadowed clearing. Once he reached the root system, he kept walking and strode halfway up the trunk before coming to rest on the underside of a thick branch. "You need to relax and focus the precise amount of chakra needed to attach yourself to the trunk of the tree. If you use too much chakra, it is forced into the tree and the tree will push back; making you fall. Why is that Naruto?"

Naruto jumped, startled for a second, before answering. But because he was so far away, Asuma couldn't hear him. Asuma smirked, this would be the way he would get Naruto to speak louder.

"I can't hear your answer Naruto." The boy started to move closer to the tree but Asuma stopped him with a shake of his head. "Don't come closer, just speak louder."

Naruto took a breath and said loud enough for him to hear, "You can't force your chakra into a living creature because it will cause damage to the person's body. The Hyuuga's force their chakra into a body specifically to cause that damage while medical techniques are absorbed by the body, not forced, and used to heal."

"And in the example of the tree?" Asuma supplemented.

"The tree forces the source of the chakra away in an effort to stop the damage caused by the incoming chakra." Naruto took a deep breath and looked up at Asuma, who was smiling at him. Naruto felt happy that he had done so well and forced the slight pain in his throat away.

"Good." Asuma took the time to cut the chakra in his feet and twist around to land on his feet. "Cutting off the chakra or not having enough will, of course, make you fall. This is what we will first be working on. Start by feeling the amount of chakra needed to cling to the tree and calmly start to walk up. Many teachers would have you taking running start, but its harder this way. One last tip, even if you fail to make it up the tree after a few days, don't give up or become overly emotional. This will hamper your progress because rage burns up your chakra. You way feel a temporary boost, but your actions will become sloppy and after your rage is gone, you will feel even weaker." His students nodded to him before separating and facing their own trees.

**_

* * *

_**Six days, three hours, forty-five minutes, and fifty-one seconds later, Naruto slipped out of consciousness and fell from the branch. A blur of dark green caught him and carefully landed as to not wake the bundle. Shibi Aburame landed neatly on the ground without making a noise. He motioned towards the trees and two shadows detached themselves from the collected darkness of the night. Asuma held Shino while Shikaku Nara held his own son, all three of them were asleep.

As Asuma stepped forward, Shibi moved Naruto into a secure position on his back. "I found Shino sleeping in the tree's roots." Asuma handed Shino to his father who was able to hold both of the boys easily.

"Shikamaru was asleep in the upper boughs if a tree. I wonder what got into him." The elder Nara looked at the boy who's head leaned on his comrade's shoulder and knew he was the one to change his son.

"The boys are exhausted. I'll take Naruto with me so he will not panic in the morning." Exchanging goodbyes with the other two jonin, Shibi transported himself and his load straight to the inner sanctum of the Aburame compound. Upon his arrival, another member of his clan took Naruto from his back and followed while Shibi made his way to his son's room. "They worked themselves into the ground to master tree walking," was the only explanation he would offer the other Aburame. The other member didn't comment, but held Naruto even more securely. Once they reached the door they needed, Shibi carefully opened the door and walked into his son's room. Every light was out and only muted light came in from the hallway, but Shibi had been in this room so many times that he knew where everything was.

"I will get the other bed," the other one whispered before moving across the large room and opening Shino's closet. He kept Naruto secure as he pulled the extra futon and covers out of a shelf. Setting a still comatosed Naruto in a nearby chair, he began to unroll the futon and make the bed. When he was done, he carefully removed Naruto's jacket and placed it near the head of the futon. Picking up Naruto again and slowly setting him down on the futon, the lower member made a mental note to alert the medic of the Aburame to check on the boys in the morning. The man looked across the room to see Shibi tucking Shino in and moving towards the bed. Just as quietly as they had come in, the two left to retire to their own beds.

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Naruto awoke, two hours later, in a panic. He couldn't see, he didn't know where he was, and he was trapped down by something. He would have been able to calm down if it wasn't for the fact that he was still in the throws of a nightmare. A small, pained whine escaped from his thrashing body. Suddenly, he felt weight land near him and he cried out again, fearing the worst. He was pulled into someone's chest and arms wrapped around him. Another cry clawled to escaped his lips, but soothing words and the arms rocking him pushed the sound down. Slowly, he calmed down enough and he relaxed into the embrace, wrapping his own arms around the person and burying his face into short hair that smelled of dried herbs.

"It's okay, Naruto. I swear." Naruto allowed himself to drift off to sleep, listening to the low voice whispering to him.

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Noaki Aburame, the family's sole healer, didn't knock on the heir's door but entered without a word. He knew that people tired enough to faint from exhaustion rarely woke just a few hours after falling unconscious. The sight that greeted him once he entered the room made him smile and stifle a laugh. In the center of the guest futon kept in every bedroom, Naruto Uzumaki was being held very tightly by Shino Aburame. Seeing that both were asleep, Noaki walked over to the south-facing window and closed the shutters, encasing the room in darkness. As a healer, it was his right to decide what was best for his patients and for these two, he decided that sleep was the best option for them.


	5. Chapter 5

The first thing taught to all young ones in every hidden village was to never trust your eyes. These are both the most used organs of the human body and the easiest to fool. Second, comes the ears and tongue. Then the nose. And finally the skin. The eyes are tied so closely with the mind and the heart that once one of the three is tricked, the others are soon to follow. To trust the eyes is to invite weakness into one's most personal defenses. The dependence fighters have on sight make them the easiest target as well as the first things Naruto learned to attack. Shino knew this, and wasn't surprised at all when the yellowish-gray fog filled the air about him. The sharp, bitter smell would have gagged anyone not used to the Aburame green houses that were filled to the brim with many exotic plants; ones that often smelled far worse. This particular scent was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't place it and didn't have the time to mull over it. He had no fear of the smog being anything too terribly dangerous; Naruto favored longer fights, no matter his opinion on actual fighting. This wasn't poison, but stung his eyes and throat.

A very slight breeze ruffled his kikaichu, so slight it could have been missed if Shino hadn't been paying attention. Hadn't been waiting for that exact sign. There was a low chink of metal links clashing; from the right but no sound from the left. He was coming to face him on his own, without the Saimyosho. Naruto suddenly appeared from the ugly mist, falling from above; heel of his hand pushed forward to strike Shino's orbital bone. He dodged Naruto's attack completely instead of just moving his head, not trusting Naruto's empty palm to actually be harmless. His thrust continued to the ground, where he caught himself with an flat hand. Naruto's wrist twisted in a way that seemed painful and his body smoothly followed; his curved foot headed straight for Shino's face in a surprisingly graceful kick. His glasses went flying, but there was no damage to his person; Shino knew better than to allow his friend to hit him. Naruto was as graceful as any Hyuuga and had physical power behind his moves that seemed disproportionate to his short and slim stature.

"Are you eating?" His blue eyes were almost completely hidden by the longish mop of blond hair. A small group of strands were longer than the rest, running from his temple to shoulder, that was wrapped by a thin silver chain that ended in a pure black ball not even half an inch in diameter; it was the noise of the chain that always gave his position away. The metal glinted in the light as Naruto straightened into his usual stance, his hands curled into loose fists and held protectively over his chest, right foot behind him.

"Not currently." Shino jumped forward, into Naruto's fighting stance. "Right now I'm winning." His style relied on free space between the enemy to deliver crippling kicks. His charge was cut off prematurely as Naruto's heel drove into Shino's hip, pushing him back a good three feet away. Shino knew he was bruised; he could feel the difference in his stride as he drove forward before Naruto could fall back into his stance.

"Only in that moment." Shino's kunai rested against Naruto's cheek, who's foot rested behind Shino's knee. The two were precariously balanced, if Naruto continued with his strike to the Achilles Tendon, Shino would topple down and his kunai would tear into his mouth. They separated carefully and stood facing each other, neither in any type of fighting stance. Shino eyed the smoke still swirling about them, trapped from escaping into the sky by the densely interwoven tree branches overhead. "Is this new?"

"Tear gas created from syn-Propanethial-S-oxide. It comes from onions specially bred in the Forest of Death." A long needle appeared from inside Naruto's sleeve. "Want to quit?" Shino didn't answer, as he couldn't speak anymore. Naruto felt the same paralysis, the creeping darkness that was the shadow bind held them tight. Wind tore through the trees, disintegrating the miasma while twigs and such scratched the two combatants.

"Sorry boys, looks like I win again." Asuma called to them jovially from a nearby branch. Shikamaru sat below him, hands frozen in a familiar seal. "Hien!" The kunai sped towards the two caught fast by Skikamaru's Kagemane, unable to move. Naruto and Shino shared a look, then crumbled to the ground in piles of scuttling insects; the projectiles sailed harmlessly overhead. The wasps were quiz to take to air, disappearing in seconds. Not that Asuma or Shika had stayed long enough to see where they went; they separated and took opposite directions away from the site.

"This just became troublesome." These weekly spars alwaysturned into something annoying like this. Winner was first to blood thrice, and determined the shared meal of the week. It happened every Friday afternoon; Tuesday to Thursday was spent learning their respective familial jutsu, or experimenting with the ANBU in Naruto's case. They came together for a spar and meal before resuming training with Asuma. It gave the team a chance to understand each others power, brought them closer through battle. The jonin never lost, so they always ate barbecue. Shikamaru was tired of it.

He didn't feel anything except weightlessness as his legs collapsed from underneath him, his body landing hard on the rough bark. Vaguely, Shikamaru realized the forest perhaps hadn't been the best place to challenge the insectoid duo. 'I shoulda realized…' The pain in his neck slowly mad itself known through his foggy mind; nine pin points, two parallel lines of four senbon, ran down the back of his spinal column, about half a foot apart. They pierced his flesh just deep enough to deaden the nerves, but a spot on his nape throbbed more than the rest; one of the wasps had gotten him in the soft spot where the skull ended and the neck began. The smothering darkness chilling his mind and taking over his vision were sure signs. 'Least I got a nap outa this.'

The small red insect detached itself and flew silently threw the air, returning to its nest. The scent of the hive led it through the thick yellow jungle of hair and down its host's neck. At his nape, the wasp burrowed a hole into the skin and crawled inward. The Saimyosho lived inside Naruto's chakra pathways, many more in number than the kikaichu since the demon's influence swelled them beyond those of any other nin. The pathways braided together but also coiled about themselves to fit in the confines of the small body. Like a beehive, a queen wasp directed the day-to-day living of the colony, but was otherwise a silent observer to the use of her children. She lived just about Naruto's navel, tied directly to the both the seal and demon.

Their host blinked as his teammate collapsed. He was sure Shikamaru would have heard his approach, or at least have been able to sense the attack coming for him. Paranoia was a shinobi's best, bittersweet, ally. The venom would only last half an hour at the most, just enough time for Shikamaru's nerves to recover and respond. With a skill gained through repetition, Naruto carefully drew the senbon from his friends skin. He was sanitizing them when Shino landed on the branch above his teammates. Naruto couldn't help but smirk at the pair of new glasses perched on his face; the last ones were shattered from his kick. "Sensei?"

"Too close. We need space or he will sense us."

Naruto stood and collected his needle case, returning it to his inside jacket pocket. "I will lead him off. Shika will be out for a bit longer." Shino nodded even though he was already vanishing into the gloom.

Shikamaru groaned as his dream of being gently rocked to sleep in the sun by his favorite hammock vanished and was replaced with Naruto's concerned face looking down at him. A cut was slowly healing on his cheek and he smelled singed. "Why'd ya wake me up? It was a lovely dream." Naruto chuckled and placed a hand on his neck, checking Shikamaru's pulse. He then lifted a limp hand up to his face and poked a tiny needle-more like a sewing and not an senbon-into his fingers, watching as they twitched.

"You were out for too long, reacted badly to the apamin. But your nerves are responding to pain. Can you feel this?" Naruto pushed his thumb into his palm. "No? The nerves are reacting, but not reporting. That should clear up soon. But why?" Shikamaru chuckled himself as he was stood up; Naruto was apt to rambling when faced with a conundrum of his own abilities. Once, he had an hour long, complete conversation with himself, out loud, over the pros and cons of using two different drugs to knock a person unconscious, depending on everything from weight to intelligence. It was an odd experience to walk without feeling the pressure on his feet or the hard branch underneath his sandals.

"So, I'm assuming you have a reason for doing all this." Short-term 'teams' of two always dominated these fight/spars. They never stayed the same throughout the match, switching between allies even mid-flight, but never being able to defeat Asuma no matter the combination. After the opposing team was defeated, the jonin would take down his teammate.

"We're tired of barbecue." Naruto was leading them through the trees, deeper into the inky darkness of the thick forest where the trees twisted together in natural renditions of embracing limbs.

"Asuma-sensei always chooses the same restaurant because he always wins, no matter how we attack him. There is only one solution."

Shikamaru thought he knew where this was going, but it was interesting to see Shino actually expressing his displeasure at the thought of Asuma winning yet again. "There is only one combination we haven't tried yet." Their eyes met as he sped up so that they were walking together and not just Naruto leading. "A three-on-one assault. We are a team after all."

"So what do you have in mind?"

Naruto grinned and pulled something from the bark of a nearby tree; thin wisps of translucent threads covered his fingers. "Something…troublesome."

* * *

It was too quiet. All cliché aside, it was actually too quiet in the training grounds. The massive, fenced in area of trees was its own ecosystem; plants and animals roamed free within its borders. But even the birds were silent. Asuma jerked his head to the right as a nearby twig snapped and then sighed at he could see nothing was there. Something in the air was bothering him; the silence was as unnerving as a true battle between sworn enemies. Paranoia is a bitch. A full hour of chasing a small yellow dart in the air didn't help his temper any; Asuma had lost sight of he bug in a small confrontation with Naruto. He knew following a wasp would be the quickest way to find the hidden students and it did. The jonin was left limping from a needle in the leg while Naruto barely got away. He believed in fighting full out, even against his own student, because otherwise their training wouldn't be enough in a real world fight. A twig snapped again, near his head this time, and Asuma attacked without thought. One of the giant tarantula that inhabited the darkest portions of the Konoha forestry burst from the canopy above him, chelicerae clicking together menacingly. The spider was fast and armored against predator attack, but its thick hairs were no protection from chakra-enhanced kunai. "Hien!" The body fell twitching to the ground.

Right as he was stepping over the corpse, it burst outward and a mass of swirling black and yellow took to the air. Saimyosho, and a whole lot of them, heading straight for him. Asuma jumped away, dodging the arms of the swarm as they tried to surround him. Something yanked at his ankle, bringing him down towards the dark underbrush. Falling, he could see Shikamaru in his Kagemane pose and the shadows closing in on him; Naruto was braced behind him, the chain wrapped around his ankle in his hands. He would deal with them second. "Haisekishou." The ash overtook the incoming insects and combusted, burning about half and dispersing the mass. Spines in the chain dug into Asuma's leg and slammed him into a nearby branch. On the bark in front of his nose, there was a bug; a kikaichu to be exact…more like a whole army. Asuma sighed.

"Ah, now this is nice," Asuma said extra loud as he speared a piece of pork and popped it in his mouth. "Best barbeque in the village." He was the only one eating or happy for that matter. In the booth across from him were two disgruntle faces and one worried. Naruto was putting a medicinal patch on a sulking Shikamaru's cheek while Shino was silently glairing at the meat cooking on the table. It was all very funny to the jonin. "Come on guys, that was a well thought out plan. I'm sure if I was a little less experienced, it would have worked perfectly."

"You are saying we are only 'a little' too weak?" Shino spoke for the first time in twenty minutes.

"Sheesh. Ya'll are a hard bunch to compliment." He sighed, then turned serious. "The truth? From the very beginning, there was no way you three genin could beat a jonin, even in the best of circumstances. The best you could hope for is to injure and be able to get away for help." His eyes settled of Naruto, who had thrown himself before Asuma and taken the punch aimed for Shikamaru, who was too worn out to dodge. "Others will tell you different, but in battle for life and death, there is no honor in dying in battle to save your pride. And it is just as foolish to sacrifice yourself for another if you can save both lives. You, Naruto, have both the power and speed to carry your teammates away without problems." His student slid down a bit in the booth. "Shino, you could have attacked before I had caught sight of your insects. Shikamaru, you should have trapped me before the Katon jutsu that got Shino." They all looked so down that it made the next part had to say over his chuckles. "But, you all did wonderfully. I am very proud."

"Wait…what?" Shikamaru's face was hilarious. "We got destroyed…and you…this was so not worth it. I'm going back to sleep." His head made a thunk as it hit the bench behind them.

"Your teamwork is levels about that of the other genin in your year, and even better than those of previous years. Working together towards your goals even outside of a life-threatening battle, building camaraderie even though you all learn separately. It seems that this way of teaching has been perfect for your growth. And I have a surprise for you, a C mission." That got the genin's attention, even Shikamaru. "Kakashi's team got his team one last week, well, a bored Inuzuka and sulking Uchiha got the team the mission. The Hokage was much more comfortable with giving out this one after hearing a report of our progress." Asuma grabbed a few more chunks of meat, chuckling at the shocked expression on their faces. "Oh, and we leave in two hours; better go change and grab supplies for a week and then meet me at the gates."

To his great surprise, it was Naruto and not Shikamaru that was the slowest to leave the restaurant. He was walking in a jerky manner, as if every joint ached and every movement was painful. "Naruto," he turned with head on a stiff neck, "Are you injured?"

"It will heal soon Sensei. Don't worry about it."

Two hours later exactly, Asuma walked up to the gates and smirked as his genin sat talking together in low voices. Shikamaru and Shino were watching Naruto as he worked on his legs; stretching and twisting his muscles very carefully as if he were a dancer. There was a purple speckled bruise covering the top of his foot that he was handling it gingerly as he wrapped it. "Seems like your paying for hitting me in the face Naruto."

He slipped his streamlined cloth boots over the bandages before grinning up at his teacher. "It was the first time I've landed a solid hit on you. My foot will heal." His team shouldered their packs and followed him out of the main gate, ignoring Izumo and Kotetsu's joking jeers. The forest surrounded their path, quiet and serene. The day seemed perfect for travel; sunny with a cool breeze.

"So what's the mission? Can't be too serious if we had no formal briefing." Shikamaru was walking right in front of Asuma, arms behind his head in a lazy manner as he walked. His pack was the smallest, really nothing more than a cloth backpack hanging off his shoulders.

"We are delivering a couple med kits to a small community near the coast; they've been having a few minor problems with illness. Its not worth the time and people to send out a squad of mednin, so they sent us." He casually lit a cigarette and took a drag. "We also need to report the conditions of the sick to the hospital," he pulled a slip of paper from a pocket, "symptoms, modes of infection, rate of spread, and mortality rate if applicable."

"Sounds like they are worried. Why not just send out an investigative squad?" Shino looked to not be listening as he was observing an insect that had landed on his hand, but was more intuitive than most thought. Asuma would have to be careful of his words.

"The higher ups aren't all that concerned, just want some info on it."

"The hospital keeps immense records of every outbreak, no matter what the illness. They often send a squad of chunin out to sites to gather data, usually medical students." Naruto would know, spending all that time with Ibiki, who valued knowledge in all fields. "But if the staff thinks it is something minor, not worth sending mednin out, they will trust med gear to genin. Or, if there is no data on it, or the threat is minimal, or even in some cases, if they are feeling lazy and don't want to travel the distance. You said it was on the coast?"

"Exactly, several days travel on this bare path going southeast between Otafuku and Tanzaku Gai and then straight to the coast. Simple delivery with no worries." And it was. The day passed easily in comfortable silence, only broken by short conversations That was fine by everyone, who enjoyed the silence of the team. Even with the sun set, and under the silvery light of the full moon, they continued at a smooth pace towards the coast. The moon was directly above them when the team stopped for the night in a clearing off the path, just in case someone came down the road while they were resting. The brush had grown in between the trees, closing the gaps and securing the area; it also served as excellent kindling for the smokeless fire Shino started in the middle of the space. They ate and drew straws for watches; Naruto taking the first 3 hour shift, then Shino, and finally Shikamaru. Once they were closer to the coast, or if it were a more dangerous mission, they would camp earlier and get more travel in. But Asuma thought his team should just work at their own pace for the beginning of their first mission outside the gates of Konoha.

"Now this is perfect," Shikamaru murmured. His cloth bag had been unrolled out into a hammock that he had strung between two trees. The low breeze was just enough to rock him gently to sleep. The others chuckled as they settled for the night; Shino entering his tent set up into the bushes surrounding the clearing and Asuma settled at the fire.

"How is your foot?" Naruto, who sat next to him, slipped off his boot and wrappings to show the now bruise-free skin. "Good. Now, how are you feeling? You are the fastest one on this team, yet even Shikamaru was in front of you while we traveled."

"It's nothing Sensei. I'm fine."

Asuma frowned. "You don't need to lie to me, Naruto. No ninja is all powerful all the time, especially a genin." The smile on his face faltered and then fell. "Is it the," how to say it? "…fox?" His student grabbed his stomach in a sudden panic, pupils sharpening into slits before he could control himself. "You can talk to me without worry. Nothing you say will change how proud I feel for all of you, my students." Asuma laughed and shook his head. "I'm no good at this kind of stuff."

"I'm not…fine, but I am recovering. It isn't anything to worry about." Naruto relaxed slowly. "The fox won't ever be a worry. The Saimyosho feed directly on his chakra. If it were to increase, they would just eat more."

"That's good." His? "I'm trusting you to tell me if something changes or you don't feel up to snuff, okay?" He waited for Naruto to nod before standing. "I'll see you in the morning. Wake me if you see anything odd."

"Hai Sensei. Goodnight."

Hours later, Shino awoke. He didn't know the reason, just a feeling inside his mind that yanked him from his rest. The kikaichu were restless, moving about inside and outside his body. His skin was itching from their movement. Forgoing his coat, Shino stepped out of the underbrush and into the moonlight. Shadows danced on the ground, moving like waves of the sea hitting the beach.. Above him, at the very peak of the tallest tree ringing the clearing, stood Naruto with his arms up into the sky, as if he were embracing the clouds; the entire hive of Saimyosho undulating around him like a storm cloud, gossamer wings glittering in the full moon like living diamonds. They gracefully wove patterns in the air, circling about the boy and the tree and the sky without rest or falling into chaos. They were free and it took Shino's breath away. Without really thinking about his actions, Shino was standing at the edge of the swarm on top of the closet tree to his friend. He must have been seen, for Naruto's arm lowered to motion him closer.

"Are you afraid of them?" He was still looking up to the sky, up at the moon, even as he spoke. Shino was in awe of the shimmering maelstrom that encased them both. It was a sharp and bitter scent carried on the wind that drew his mind from the wasps swirling about the place.

"No. I do not fear the Saimyosho."

"I can smell it. They can smell it. They live off fear as if it were chakra." It was only once he got closer that Shino could see the blood; it was almost black and flowed down Naruto's cheeks like tears from his eyes. He braved the swam to walk to his friend. Once close, he could see that Naruto's sclera were completely blackened by the fouled liquid.

"All I smell is blood. Are you injured?" The insects suddenly charged the two, reentering the hive with a speed and force that Shino had never seen before. Small rivulets of blood ran down from the holes created from the burrowing, but they soon closed due to Naruto's supercharged healing factor. His arms fell to his side and he looked Shino full in the face for the first time that night.

"Not anymore." His tears slowly turned clear, his eyes returning to the bright blue they were know for. "After breeding inside that spider, there were too many Saimyosho, Sensei's attack didn't wipe out enough of them. The weak and useless had to be culled. It was painful to move with them all inside the hive. They were consuming my chakra because there were too many. It hurts to keep them and hurts to kill them." He shivered and grabbed a hold of Shino's arm, looking up at him with hopeless eyes. "I could feel every single one die and rot away into the demon energy they were created from." Shino was lost; he understood the situation, but had no personal experiences to tell him how to handle the situation. He was a creature based on logic and felt very little when kikaichu passed. Since their life spans were just over five hours, there is no time to form a personal attachment. He was devoted to his insects as a whole, but Naruto named almost every single one of his symbiotic wasps. Shino had nothing to compare his pain to and no idea how to make it better. He awkwardly laid an arm over Naruto's shoulders and let him cry is sorrow out to the sky.

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I won't make excuses for my horrid lateness. For some reason, even after I started to work on it, this chapter wouldn't come to me! I know its short, but I know what is going to happen in the next chapter and now that I've been working on it, I can focus on my Naruto fanfiction. I hope the fighting makes sense and isn't boring; nothing else really happens. I hope this shows more team interactions, a lot of the reviews wanted more of it. Again, I am sorry. Thank you for reading. Oh and...5 more days till my birthday!


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